Bobby Green is out of next week’s fight
against Jim Miller for undisclosed reasons. Cowboy Cerrone will
fill his spot against Jim Miller at UFC 276 at 170 pounds, per UFC.
Miller’s 40th UFC fight, Cowboy’s 38th (and 48th UFC/WEC appearance
combined). pic.twitter.com/qm738luENS— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN)
June 23, 2022
It appears the Ultimate Fighting Championship is moving on
from Donald
Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon for
now.
Per ESPN
on Thursday, Bobby Green
is no longer able to compete at
UFC 276 on July 2. In his stead against Jim Miller
(34-16, 1 NC) will be former foe Donald
Cerrone (36-16, 2 NC). The two will be competing at
welterweight, instead of Miller’s initially planned weight class
against Green at 155 pounds, likely due to the short-notice nature
of the opponent switch. The two first met at UFC Fight Night 45 in
the main event of their 2014 clash, and Cerrone won in a
back-and-forth battle by knockout from a head kick.
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While Cerrone defeated Miller in the midst of what became an
eight-fight win streak culminating in an unsuccessful title shot
against Rafael dos
Anjos, Cerrone has fallen on hard times the last few years. His
one bright spot, a draw with Niko Price
due a point deduction for Price, is interspersed between five
losses, with four by knockout. “Cowboy” has not had his hand raised
in victory since battering Al Iaquinta
over five rounds in 2019. Despite this, Cerrone is tied with Miller
and Andrei
Arlovski for the most victories in organizational history with
23. This match, therefore, will be between the winningest fighters
in UFC history, with 46 combined triumphs coming into their
rematch.
Although Cerrone has struggled of late, Miller has shined. A
one-punch knockout of Erick
Gonzalez in October 2021 ended a two-fight decision skid to
Vinc
Pichel and Joe
Solecki, and he followed that performance by drubbing Nikolas
Motta in the second round in February. Miller will become the
first fighter to amass 40 UFC appearances, while “Cowboy” will be
competing in his 38th bout inside the Octagon. The two combine for
a substantial 31 post-fight bonuses – although that total is shy of
the scuttled Cerrone-Lauzon tilt which would have tallied for 33
had it stayed together.
The blockbuster UFC 276 will kick in the doors of the T-Mobile
Arena in Las Vegas on July 2 with a stacked offering bringing two
title fights on top. The main event will see Israel
Adesanya look to keep an iron grip on his middleweight throne
against knockout artist Jared
Cannonier. In the co-headlining position, Alexander
Volkanovski will look to complete his trilogy with Max
Holloway in his favor, with the featherweight strap on the
line. The remainder of the main card sees Sean
Strickland battle Alex
Pereira at middleweight, a possible flyweight title eliminator
between Lauren
Murphy and Miesha Tate
and a bantamweight battle pitting Pedro
Munhoz against Sean
O’Malley.